Everyone's the Same in the Dark
by Link'sLily
Summary: A love story between an oppressed, thrill seeking princess and a crude, self-relying stable boy. A classic romance between two beloved characters who tackle the obstacles thrown their way. Although their origins and family's keep them separate, everyone's the same in the dark.
1. Chapter 1: Small Eyed Dukes

Chapter 1:Small Eyed Dukes

Link was waiting for the duke's arrival by the garden's entrance, alone and patient. He kept his eyes ahead, every now and then glancing at the princess and the queen by the outdoor patio. He had never been so close to the royal grounds, let alone the actual princess. The duke was late. Link never liked waiting on people. He usually kept his affairs separate from the ones of the royal family and worked at the ranch. But he needed the money this time, so he agreed to greet the duke and care for his horse, however he never promised his manners would be in tact.

He took a breath after another minute of staring at the empty trail and wiped his forehead. "It's too hot for this shit."

* * *

><p>"Sit up," her mother coaxed.<p>

Zelda jerked her spine upward and her breasts outward.

Her mother continued to gesture her upwards, like 'up, up up.'

Zelda kept pinning her shoulders back until her bones squeezed together and cramped her muscles. When her mother continued, she snapped,

"I literally can't sit up straighter."

The mother held up a gloved hand and smiled. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I guess I'm more nervous than you are."

Zelda adjusted the skin tight neck line of her dress barbarically. "I seriously doubt that."

"It's good to be nervous, you should be."

"Well, the tightness of this dress should help with quickening my breaths…and I won't be lying when I say he's 'breath taking'."

"Darling, you look absolutely stunning."

"I'm burning up."

"That's what your fan is for."

She lifted her elaborately laced fan and fanned herself, already bored. "He's late."

"Don't be so eager."

"Yes," Zelda sighed. "Because that's what I am, eager."

* * *

><p>"I didn't know horses's came this white," Link commented as he took the engraved reins of the duke's steed.<p>

The duke, a rigid, tall man, gracefully dismounted, not bothering to respond to Link. A few others were riding beside him, his guards.

When he passed by Link, he handed him a blue rupee.

"Thank you, son."

Link rolled his eyes when the duke was out of sight but slipped the rupee in his pocket anyway. He led the horses to the royal stables, taking one last glance at the princess.

* * *

><p>Zelda hated how small the duke's eyes were when he smiled and bowed. "Your highness." His face was long, rigid and his mouth was an emotionless slit.<p>

"Daughter," her mother began. "This is Lord Darting."

"The Third," he added.

Zelda slightly curtsied as her moth nodded.

"Yes the third. How's your father?"

"He's well, thank you. Just signed the treaty with the Forule region."

"Wonderful."

"Yes, it is wonderful. I see now where Zelda gets her beauty."

The mother let out a fake, polite laugh while Zelda managed to conquer a smirk.

Darting gestured towards the table. "Shall we?"

They sat and stared at each other for a moment. Her mother excused herself and left them alone.

Zelda smiled softly and continued to fan herself, never meeting Darting's eyes directly.

"I've heard wonderful things about you," he said after a moment.

"Really?"

"Of course. The beautiful princess of Hyrule who rules with wisdom and grace."

She sighed and glanced at the rose bush behind Darting's shoulder. "I think 'rules' is a rather strong word."

Darting didn't seem fazed. In fact he shot a subtle, crooked smile her way, as if he found her amusing.

A server appeared by their table, hands tightly bound behind his back and he stood as straight as an arrow. That is until his spine bent in half as he bowed before them. "Afternoon, my lord and your highness. I am one of those who will be serving you your meal. Shall we start with a fine wine?"

Zelda opened her mouth to ask for the choices, even though he knew only one wine name, and that was only because the painted image on the label intrigued her every time she spotted it.

Darting beat her to it. "I will have the Red Forest, thank you."

Zelda raised an eyebrow at him, finding it rather rude of him to select the wine. He twitched his eyebrows slightly.

"You weren't planning on drinking, were you? I assumed since-"

"No, you're right. I'm far too young. I was about to ask for a glass of lemon water anyway."

* * *

><p>"Hey you!" a chef hollered on his way out of the royal kitchen.<p>

Link was dozing off by the royal ranch, his back up against the stable wall and a horse gentle lowering its neck and nuzzling his hair every moment or so.

"HEY! Wake up!"

He did, but merely tilted his head upwards towards the chef with half open eyes. "What?"

"We need you to work in the kitchen."

He sighed a lazy breath, threw his head back and closed his eyes once again. "Sorry I don't cook…Well I can't but I wouldn't anyway."

"You wouldn't have to cook. You need to be a server."

"HA! That I defiantly don't do."

The chef tossed a white chef's uniform into Link's face. "I wasn't asking."

"And I wasn't kidding."

The chef smirked. "I've seen you around here….You need this job more than most, don't you?"

Link's eyebrows twitched. "What? You're gonna fire me if I don't do something that's not even in my job description?"

After a moment of thought, the chef crossed his arms and sniffed. "How's your uncle?"

Link squinted his eyes in annoyance, his already short temper being tested. "What do I have to do?"

* * *

><p>A server rammed into Link's side as he entered the kitchen.<p>

"Watch it!" he snapped.

"Take it easy stable boy. You have to bring the couple their meals."

"The couple?"

"Princess Zelda and Lord Darting."

"She's-….She's getting a husband already?"

"What do you mean already? She's eighteen, now, I believe. That's when my daught—Never mind! Get to work!"

Link dug a finger into his collar of his uniform and pulled it away from his neck. "Let's get this over with."

_**I know that chapter moved lighting fast, but I want to see the response to this story before I continue it. I'll probably go back and elaborate on this first chapter. Please review**_


	2. Chapter 2:Expensive Chicken

Chapter 2: Expensive Chicken

Link walked out of the castle doors humiliated and annoyed, carrying a bottle of Red Forest by the neck and down by his side. It wasn't the proper way to present wine, but he honestly didn't know other wise and wouldn't have corrected himself anyway.

He hesitated when he saw the Princess and the duke. The duke's back was to him and she was across from him, facing Link. She seemed to be incredibly bored, her brilliant blue eyes darted in different directions, until they fell on him. She stared for a moment, almost taken off guard for some reason, then twitched her eyebrows and tilted her head, like he was doing something odd.

It was then he realized he was doing something odd. He was just standing there, staring at them.

He suddenly felt awkward as he approached them, which was rare for him. He usually never let himself feel out of place in the royal grounds, even though he knew he was, simply out of tenacity and pride.

"Um," he began as he stood by their table. He wasn't even sure if he should say he had their wine or if he should just serve it. He decided to just serve it, deciding it would attract less attention to him and the stupid uniform he was wearing. He began to undo the wax covering the bottle.

The duke cleared his throat. "Is that Red Forest?"

_Whoops_. He nonchalantly read the label. "Yes."

When the duke responded with an obnoxious look towards the Princess, Link narrowed his eyes.

"That is what you ordered, right?"

"No, it is. I just wanted to make sure."

"Alright then," Link muttered and poured them both a glass.

He couldn't even comprehend how much he hated serving them, he didn't notice the Princess stealing a view glances towards him.

"Uh," he said once he finished. "…Enjoy."

* * *

><p>The kitchen was hot and crowded, loud. All things Link hated.<p>

A chef suddenly appeared with a dish covered with garnishes and a half roasted chicken in the center.

"This is the half dry roasted lemon free range with a pumpkin puree and fresh scallions."

Link looked at the dish as it was handed to him and muttered, "it looks like chicken."

"Yeah, and it costs more than your weekly salary. And the duke is allergic to scallions so give him the plate without the green shavings on top, alright? Get going!" The chef put his hand on his back and pushed him forward.

Link dug his heels down in protest, not wanting to go out there again. "Listen, isn't there anyone more qualified to do this? I don't know what I'm doing out there and…I really don't want to."

After hearing a delicate 'oh', they both jerked their heads to the side to see the Princess standing in the hallway in front of the open doorway to the kitchen. She looked like a lost dog.

"I was just on my way back from the restroom," she murmured awkwardly.

The chef smirked and asked loudly, "Now, son, you wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity of serving the lovely Princess Zelda, would you?"

Link bit the inside of his lip, the chef's tone irritating and condescending. The Princess stared at him with round eyes.

"Of course not," he said with a slight smile towards her. Even though his answer was fake, his smile was genuine. The Princess nodded once and disappeared.

Link sighed and walked out on his own.

The duke was sitting there, sipping his wine delicately and puckering his mouth as if he was still tasting it.

Zelda came up next to Link as he approached with their meals and sat down, him immediately shifting out of the way when he felt her side graze his.

He placed the dishes in front of them and felt the need to say them out loud.

"Your dry lemon roasted….here's your chicken."

The duke pushed around his meal with his fork and open his mouth to say something, but Link's eyes widened in realization and beat him to it.

"Oh right, don't eat that one!" he breathed and quickly switched the plates. "I'm sorry, my mistake."

He gave a quick, eyebrow raised look at Zelda, the kind of friendly look one would give to another if they were in an awkward situation. She gave a similar look with an added fake, humorous, and silent wince with her mouth

"You should be," the duke said in a condescending tone as he lifted his fork to his mouth. "You wouldn't want to be responsible for a duke's death now."

"Yeah, Gods forbid," Link mumbled in the back of his throat. The second he did so, he closed his eyes in immediate regret. It was too loud and too rude. Dammit.

The entire patio seemed to silence, Zelda even froze with wide eyes ahead, almost stopping the same way Link did, as if she felt the same wince of mistake.

The duke placed his fork down loudly, the metal clanking against the plate.

Link held out his hands and begun a desperate apology. "I'm am so terribly sorry sir, please forgive me, I didn't mean it like that, I'm not used to serving and-"

The duke, an immensely tall man, stood up. Link backed up.

"Who do you think you are?"

A guy in trouble. "Someone who made an awful rude and stupid mistake, sir."

Zelda delicately stood up and lifted a gloved hand. "Maybe it's not that big of a deal. He's obviously-"

"Please," the duke scoffed and held a flattened palm out to Zelda. She frowned and glanced towards Link. "Consider yourself fired!" the duke said with a pointed finger to him.

Link frowned. "Please sir, I need this job more than you know. Let me make it up-"

"Get off these grounds before I have you executed!"

His frown turned into a glare. "Fine. Enjoy your chicken."

On his way to the kitchen, he passed by Zelda and mouthed 'sorry' before disappearing into the castle.

Zelda turned and watched him go, then looked back at the duke.

He took a breath and fixed his collar. "Well, shall we?"

"Yes."

* * *

><p>"How was it?" Her mother chirped as Zelda entered the upstairs hall.<p>

"Fine."

She followed her to her room. "Fine? That's all? Fine?"

"It was fine. He was….well mannered."

"That doesn't sound that exciting," the mother said as she followed her inside.

"Well," Zelda mumbled as she began to undo her braid and sat down in front of her mirror. "It wasn't."

"He's a good man, daughter. Besides, lunch is never a very riveting occasion anyway."

It was silent for a moment as her mother waited for her to say more as her daughter removed her uncomfortable clothing.

"Our server got fired," Zelda murmured as she wiped off her face makeup, her moth sitting on the chair beside her bed.

"Oh? Which one?"

"The one with that longish dirty blonde hair and the blue eyes? I think he's the stable boy actually. We must have been short staffed. It was actually a little humorous, the way he served us. He didn't know what he was doing but at least he tried."

"Oh right, that young man. That's too bad. He seemed very kind when he would prepare my horse for me. He's very good looking too."

Zelda smirked into the mirror. "Mother."

"I may be old but I'm not blind! Tell me more about the meal."

"He said he really needed the job. I felt rather sorry for him."

"The duke?"

"No," she said with a soft giggle. "The stable boy."

"Probably because of his poor uncle."

"His uncle?"

"The older stable hand. He fell extremely ill recently. Now I only see that young man around instead of the two of them."

Zelda frowned at her mother's reflection in the mirror. "Can't we provide them with more care? Or at least raise his pay?"

"Daughter, I don't want to talk about the labor policies. Tell me more about you and the duke."


End file.
